Shepherding the Sheep

Matthew 18:10–14 ESV

10 “See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven. 12 What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? 13 And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray. 14 So it is not the will of my Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.

Three parts to the sheep.

The sheep the shepherd doesn’t yet have.

Who are the sheep the shepherd doesn’t have?

John 1:11–13 ESV

11 He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. 12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

So the ones who receive Jesus and believe in His name are given the right to become children of God only.

John 10:14–16 ESV

14 I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.

The other sheep that are not of this flock are the gentiles.

Jesus hadn’t died yet so Israel wasn’t expanded to the gentiles yet. Jesus had to die in order for the gentiles to be brought into the flock. Now, anyone who believes are all God’s children not just the jews.

The sheep he does have.

Believers

The sheep he has lost.

A believer who has gone astray.

How do we know that this is what He is talking about?

Because in verse 15-20 He teaches how we should go about retrieving our lost BROTHER. The greek word means a sibling through blood. So Jesus is talking about the ones we are bound to each other by blood and because of His death believers are bound to each other through Jesus’ blood as brothers and sisters.

Leaving the Mountain

The mountain was always considered the place where the divine dwelled. God’s sheep dwell with Him on the mountains.

God leaves the high places and goes and searches for his children that have gone down off the mountain. They have stopped dwelling with Him and are seeking out other things.

What does it look like?

Humiliation

Our communion with God is only whole if everyone is present. If there is no one that needs to come back up the mountain.

Like we learned a few weeks ago, it is especially bad if WE are the ones to cause the sheep to leave the mountain. In that case, it is even more so our responsibility to go reach them and reconcile them to the Father i.e. the mountain with us.

Toy Story Illustration

- Woody is a sheriff and cowboy

- Woody is brought into all kinds of dangerous situations

- Woody’s goal was to get Buzz to realize his true purpose which was to serve Andy

- Woody got angry with Buzz a lot

- No matter what happened Woody never took the easy way out and left Buzz

- Even under false accusations from his toy family Woody never gave up on Buzz to bring him back to Andy’s room.

Who do you need to reconcile with?

We are called by Jesus to come out of the 99 and off the mountain to go look for the 1 lost brother or sister.